Can-testing machine.



W. G. MOFFBT. GAN TESTING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 5,1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET] Patented Apr. 22,1913.

W.`G. MOFFET. GAN TESTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1911; 1 05 9,381 Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Anf/7 f77/IMA' My/ W. G. MOFPET. CAN TESTING MACHINE. 'APPLICATION FILED JULY 5. 1911.

Patented Apr. 22,` 19131 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

, fm1. n @Janv N M l@ 1W @Ww/O W. G. MGFFBT. GAN TBS'NNG MACHINE. APPL` "SJHUW "ZHD ULY 5, 15H1. 15059,;381 Patented A111222, 1913.

` SHEETS-SHEET KIQ. 5% NQ v mu@ NW.

NITEDSTATES PATENT onirica.

WILLIAM G. MOFFE'I', OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO JESSE .'W.

NICHOLS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAN-TESTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 5, 1911. Serial No. 637,032.

To all lwhom may concern.'

Be it `known that I, VIIJLIAM Cr. Morrn'r, a citizen ot' the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cans'lesting Machines, of which the following is a speeiiication.

My invention relates to can machinery and has 4particular reference to a machine for testing cans in order to detect anyleakage therein. A similar apparatus is disclosed in my eo-pending application filed of even date herewith, entitled Machine for Testing Cans.

y The present machine has many advantages which will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 1st, it is compact and its parts are readily accessible; 2nd, it may be Iliade of very large capacity by merely extending its length, whereas in circular conveyers the size is'rnore limited; 3rd, 'the means for the admission of the testing lnirl are so arranged that 'there is no possibility of leakage between the source ot'tluid pressure and the testing unit; 4th, the connecting means loetween the testing unit and the air admission terminalwhereby the valves are not opened until the connection is sealed; 5th, the com- `bination with a machine such as described of a novel detector mechanism; (3th, the arrangement of the parts insueh manner that no ejector" mechanism is nceessary'for the cans.

Vth these objects in view my invention consists, broadly stated, i'n a plurality of can testing iinits suitably linked together to form an `endless chain, means for causingl travel of said chain testing units, and means for supplying liuid pressure to cans held by said testing units and detector mechanism so `arranged `that the imperfect cans are detccteda'nd discharged in a separate chute.

My invention will be more readily understood by reference to `the accompanying drawings wherein,

' Figure l is a side elevation o't a machine such as heretofore described, the central portion `being broken away; l1? ig. 2 is a plan view oit the nnilchilne,shown in .l `ig. l; Figl is a section on the line 3--3 of lFig. l; ltigt isa section on the'irregular line 4--4 ot Fig. l; Fig. 5 is a fragnient-ary detail showing' the arrangement ot parts tor clamping the cans; Fig.` (i is a similar view showing the arrangement lior unclamping; Fig. 7 is an end view of two clamping units; Fig.`8 is a side view ot' the parts shown in Fie. 7 Fig'. t) is an enlarged sectional detail o? the detector mechanism, the double valve and the sealing means as applied to a testing unit,

and Fig. 10 is a motitieat-ion showing a re-` versal of the parts in the deteetorinechanism whereby vacuum may be used instead of pressure.

Referring more particularlyrto the drawings it will be seen that I provide aframe work, a portion of which is shown at 20, on which the movingparts are mounted.

ln suit-able beariiigs 21, 2l in said frame work I. mount transverse shafts 22, 22. M0-

tion is imparted to one of these shafts .by`

means of gear 23, pinion 24, short shaft 25, Afurther gears and pinions Q6 and belt wheel E27. wheels 2S, 29, these wheels being preferablyf polygonal in outline, the wheels in the present instance. being ten sided. On these wheels 28, 29, is carried a chain, each chain beingl made up of a plurality of testing units composed ot' a short shaft 30, havin antifriction rollers 3l on the exteriors t ereof.` Carried by the shaft are .heads 82, 8B, ref` erably connected by the portion 34, having perforated lugs 35, 36, through which the shaft passes'. These lugs 35, 3G, are staggered on opposite sides in order` to securely interlock the yconveyor chain.` lhc part 34 has secured thereto an upstanding segment 37. which provides the can-receiving cradle. This is shown in Figi.

'In order to suitably guide the eonveyer units and prevent sagging I provide `ways 38, blt) with which the rollers 3l cooperate'. These ways or guides may be, as shown in liig. 3, in the form of angles, channels or i flat plates. It will be seen that the heads 3Q, 33, are rigid with relation to each other. Within the recess 40, in the head 33, l mount Patented Apr. 22, 1913.*

Also carried on each shaft 22 are twoan interorly threaded p iston 4l, having a i i head 42. within the recess 40, and contacts the head 'tl ot' the piston. VWithin the threaded re-` cess in the piston 4XL l mount the shank 4st ot' a clamping head 45. This shankA-t threaded and by this means cans ot ditferent. lengths may be accommodated between the clamping heads by the adjustment ol the head 45. 'llie piston 41, carrying the clamping head 45, is adapted to be recipro- A helical spring 48 isinounted contact piece in theother direction.

cated against the force of the spring 43,

vby means of the 'levers 46, 47 rigid with a short'shaft 48, mounted in bearings 49, carried by the head 33. Anti-friction rollers 50, 51,' are provided at the terminals Aof the levers 46, 47. Cams 52, 53, mounted on the frame Work of the machine provide respectively for shifting the clamping liead15 into opened or closed position. In the head 32 is mounted a packing ring 54', against which the open end of a can 55 is adapted to be thrust; YWithin the head 32 is -provided my novel detector mechanism which includes diaphragms 56, secured at 57 to a shaft 58, havingl a port 59 therein. The

port 59 communicates with a passage 60 inv the head 32 and this passage communicates with an opening 6l concentric with. the heads and with a can clampedtherebetween. Also carried by the Shaft 58 and slidably held thereon is a memberv 62, which is in turn connected to a contact piece 63, pivoted at 64 to a portion of the head 32. An elecat 66, is also provided. This terminal 65 has. a screwehreaded contact piece 67,' by means of Whi the extent of movement of the contact piece 68 may be regulated. An adjust-4 able stop pin 68 limits the movement of the It will be noted that the part 62 is pivoted to the short arm of the contact piece 63 and that,

the stem 58 passes through the part-62 and -is frictionally engaged by reason of a small leaf spring. Thus the stern may have extended movement throughthe part 62, but at each cha-nge in direction of movement of the stem the contact piece is actuated. The advantage in having the part 62 connected 1loosely to the shaft 58 is in that the contact piece Will be operated at the slightest leal: the can, irrespective of the pressure of the 'tr-sting fluid.

ln il -the testing machines within my "novh ige the pressure of the testing fiuid must b1 kept absolutely constant; otherwise if the pressure is above normal the ejecting mechanism will not operate in case a small leak is discovered.` In my construction, as'

will be seen, the diaphragms may expand to their full limit, the shaft merely sliding within the part 62;v however, at the slightest loss of compressed Huid the diaphragme will contract carrying the part 62'and rocking the contact piece. have provided a. pluralityvof'diaphragms 56, their interiors being in cnnmunication.l A portion of one diaphragm. is Asecured to a rigid part of the machine, the pointy of attachment preferably surroundingan opening through Which -the fluid may enter; also seated in the opening is a longitudinally movable shaft 58, `to one portion of which a wall of a diaphragm lfarthest removedl from' the first mentioned diaphragm is se- It will be notedthat I- cured.y I have found this construction to be much preferable over thatof a single diam phragm in that it is more sensitive to slight changes in the pressure and still has a large capacity. A

1Within the recess 6l in the head 4`32 I vpro-` which the limit of movement of the valve may be determined. Itlwill be seen that the valve -stem 71 extends normally flush with the outer face of the head 32,

The construction of Fig. l0 is identical with that ot' Fig. 9, except that the interiors of the diaphragms 76 are connected to the atmosphere. The diapl'iragms are surrounded by an air-tight casing and the vacuum connection is to the casing; that. is,'to.the exterior of lthe diaphragms. The diaphragms are connected to the shaft 77 at .78, there being, as in the first described instance, i a sliding connection 79 between the shaft and a rocker 80, the rocker actuating the contact piece 81. can, however, air will lenter the casing around the diaphragms and allow the dia# If a leakis found inthel phragms `to contract, thus carrying the conf tact piece 79 with the shaft and completing the circuit through a terminal 82. In orderv to provide for the entrance ofair or vacuum to the can testing units I provide in the shaft 22, ports 83.- A tube83a connects the f ports 83 with a suitable source'of air. or)y vacuum supply.A These ports communicate with flexible tubes 84, terminating in therecessed members 85, vcarried by a spider` 86, secured to one of-the polywonal wheels' 28. The recessed member 85 is rn the form of` a plunger having a rounded outer end,87, and normally held in expanded position by means of the spring 88. A fiexible dia# plunger 85 and at the other end to a capA 90,"` a spring 91 within the diaphragm tending to expandcthe same. is provided inthe cap 90, this rubber perf` tion being used to secure a ti ht joint when the parts are thrust againstt e head 32. A` tubular extension 93 of the capy 90 and a valve seat 94, accommodates a Valve 95, carried -on a stem 96 and normally held against its seat by an erpansionspring 97. ThisA valve stem 96 iis-"guided by portions 98,1199, and a stop 100, carried bythe plunger 85, limits the longitudinal movement of theA valve and stem. It will be seen that the shifting of the plunger 85, with rel-ationto the spider 86, causes the compression ofthe spring 88, thel contraction of the diaphragm 89 against the-force of the ring91,"..the seating of the packing92 agalnst the outer' vA rubber packing 92 11o phragm 89 is secured atoneend to the l A face of the `head 33, the contact of the valve stems 71 and 96and the unseating of the valves 70 and 95, thus admittingair througlh the conduit 84, to the interior of a can. T e shifting `of the plunger tact With a cam work ofl the machine. .i

The operation of the parts in order to expeban imperfect can `may be described as 4ollowszzfAn electrical circuit 102, having a l source `of electricalenergy, includes a magv net l03,\having anvarmature 104, connected 106, all the parts being mounted on the framework of the machine. The armature 104 is normally held away from the core of the magnet by An untested can chute 108 provides for the entrance of the cans andthe chutes 109, 110 provide for the discharge of imperfect and perfect cans respectively.

The operation of mymachine is as follows: Assuming the can testing units to be empty, power is applied to start the device in operation and cans are supplied through the chute 108. The clamping heads L are retractedat pointsinthe eonveyer opposite the mouth of the chute 108 and a can is received in the cradle 34. Immediately thereafter the arm 47 contacts the cam 53, shown in Fig. 5, and clamps the head 45, thrusting the canngainst the packing 54. Itvwill be seen that during this arm 46 is thrown past `the center and the parts are securely locked. Immediately thereafter the rounded end 87 of a plunger 85, contacts the cam 101 and causes the admission ot air or vacuum to the interior ot the can as described in connection with the description of the mechanism. The air remains on the can for only aI short time, as

will be seen, due to the length of the cam A101, the plunger then being retracted and the air securely trapped within the can byimeans of `the Vvalve 70. The diaphragme 56 are thus expanded and the contact piece 03 resting against the stop (38. The testing unit continues its travel and if during the time consumed in passingfrom this point to the 5o point opposite the chute 109, any

found, air escapes from the can, the diaphragms will be deflated and the contact piece 03 shifted,thus causing the closing of the circuit and the actuation of the armature `10kt, with the consequent shitting of the cam 10G. lVhen thus shifted, the cam will project underneath the roller 50 of the sliertarm 47, thus causing `the rotation ot the shait 48 and the movement of the piston ft2, carrying the head 45 therewith. This, due to the position of the can with relation to the cradle 37, permits `the can to fall linto the imperfect can no leak is discovered in the can, the ele rical apparatus will not. beactuated and the can 85 is caused by"con`"` 101,`carried by the frame by a link 105, connected to a shiftable cam the contractile spring 107.`

clamping ac ion the;

leak is chute 100. If, however,

testing unit will travel to the point opposite the perfect can chute 110. At this point the roller 50 will contact the fixed cam 52 and n, cause the release of the can.

While I have described the operationiaiith relation to one can testing unit and one can 1t will be understood that the operation. thus described is continuous, newncanswbeing1y suppliedtozthe machine throuv'hthe chute 10S. It will be seen also that by `mynovel arrangement a much higher speedma :be

attained with the same lengthofltimeue a singbetween the confininv of the airllintl e can and the discharge oi1 the can than if a conveyer of limited capacity were used. With the present construction there is no limit within reason to the length of the 1hacline and its consequent capacity. Furthermore, it will be seen that the number of parts is reduced to a minimum. By means of the valve arrangement, best shown in Fig. air 1s not admitted until a erf'ect seal has.

9 been made and the air supp y is discontinued before the seal is broken.

It will be understood that many modifications may be made in the mechanism herein shown, all without departing from the spiritof my invention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a diaphragm, a stem adapted to be actuated by said diaphragm, an electrical Contact piece adapted to be operated by 'nsV said stem, and a frictional sliding connection between said stem and said Contact piece, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a fluid actuated diaphragm, a stem-longitudinally movable by said diaphragm, an electrical contact piece motionlimiting stops for said contact piece and a frictional connection'between said contact piece and said stem whereby the longitudinal movement of said stem is not limited by the movement of said contact piece, substantially as described.

3. In a can testing machine, the combination of a plurality of traveling units, a rotatable `member having a plurality of travcling nir-pressure terminals, a terminal registering with a'unit during a portion of the travel of both thereof. valves in said unit .and terminal, and a diaphragm forming a part of the connection between the unit and terminal whereby loss of fluid is avoided, substantially as described.

4. Aran testingV machine comprising, in

combination, a plurality of connected can testi ing units,det/actormechanism assoelatedwith each unit, vclamping mechanism carried by each unit, a fixed cam arranged to unclamp perfect cans and a shiitahle cam arranged for actuation by said detector mechanism and ada )ted to unclamp imperfect cans, a source of uid pressure, a plurality of shiftable fluid said source of fluid pressure terminals,' one of sad terminals reglstering with a can testing unzgt and movlng 1n the same path during a yrtion efts travel, means conneetmg sind termlnals wlth pressure and :L cam a1:- Saud termlnals, Wheleof a can held by said pitgsustlantially as described. K

` WILLIAA Gf. 1

Witnesses:

JESSE WV. NICHOLS, ABRAM B; STRATTON. 

